Welder&#39;s shield



Fei). 19, 1,945. LANDls 2,395,053

WELDER" s SHIELD Filed A r l 161- i945.

' INVENTOR.

' I GEORGE G.LAND|S wmi m ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 19, 1946 TED I STATES P T-EN T OFFICE WEL'HEBS D George Landis, University Heights, Dliiq, ass'ignor'to The Iiinsoln El ect'ric Comm, :Cleveland, Ulric, a imrporation 70f filfio I v Appl'madzion A ril :16, 194s, Ne.-4s3-,' ze

B Claims.

"This invention ne'letes as ir-rdicsited to welderfs shields such es are used the p'umtose of preteeting the f'ace and head portions s, welding operator engaged :in the process of e'le'dtric are welding.

Ennis invention has for its principal object the provision er a shield halving eplureility-oi sight openings, er :dhierent degrees of trenspelrency. @n'e of'these :operiings is provided with a lens which is relatively transpamerit-so that the mixer atmmay, ander Lerdin eiry een'difiions :o 'f illuminatien, .observe the ph'siti'on of the welding sled trede with respect to the work; 'I he other sight openin is previded whine more ep'eque le'ns ea pelble of providing protection from the are roi the welding zone under drdinalry oonditiens 'ef illumination.

It is a iurther and more partiodla'r :ohject :of my invention to provide a relative arrangement of the two lenses or sight openings as aforesalid so that the eperater will, :more or l'e'ss :as in normazlrertlex action, so .sliiit his line e'f vision f-rom the more transparent mperiing to the mei e opaque (meninges the occesion demands.

Other objects of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the nneomplishment for the fIireg Qing and related ends, said invention then copi srises the features lhereineifter tully idesoribed particularly lpointed hut in 'iihe .rclaims tne ifollowin'g description end the annexed drawing setting f'orth in detail dce'rta'in illustrative -emb'odim'ents of the invention, these being indicative, however, 0f met a. few not the various ways in which the prinniple of-the imzenti'onimay beiempleyed;

In said annexed .drawing- :Eig. ii is a .:front :eleva'tion "View :ef a, welders shield constructed tin zac'cmtdance 'with my invention; I I

:E'igjflsis a transverse .sectionehziew of the shield (c1. -2-'8d I in 3 in .A implements :a. mint seams {of as GEIU BmfiIE C 'micg jiB represents the eye of lthe wearer-11f xth'e -;C;represents the more opaique dens, through the are [is normally observed. in :oparettion; 23nd D is the second which is .nm'nmlly hf {greater transparency than lensiC. V

InzFiig. :3 the two lenses hav :been illustrated assumed substantially iet right angles. xTell-om the ensuing description, [it will be found. however, that zlzize :a'ngular me'lationship between the {lenses may beimnierlisnmewhnt while retaining the dunciamentazls :01 the invention :as illustratedinFig. 3.. ."Eie eenter maiyil is the lime along which the wearerxii theisliield normally (observes the peint snumenf light iii. ;'Iihe my I denetes (the ,lower limit of thezdirect mysintereepted by the dens Q, "Imdrthe raiys -G nlenete the limits of the held of vision :of :the openatoriszeye-iihreugh the Pier-1s j-D. shamed smother was", any invention .comprises so ziamitamgmg the lens :D-with ;respect to :the )-lens C an 'i'that it lies within the shadow got the .lens Grand iits hppentenanoes, with n espent to slight emiirmdfmmzthe pointsoume tohe nbserszed such as :the .Thezalm'angement illustrated .in

I Fig. 3 snakes lit =cleanly evident that even with lens D thus :arranged in the shadow of th lens *C, the operator may, lay ira ising his heed, so shift ithe .lens assembly in 1a -oounter plo ckwise dimcixion about the axis ref ey res viewed in curatelywthelens assembly, into the positioriillustaken on re wplezne substantially indicated :by the 7 it'he invention rdiegrammatically illustrated mated 3, whereupon, the are my .ibe

sa-ielystruckr k flomitheforegeing it believedithait the thread principles-hf any invention, as rillus'trated )in il ig. 3, will he fully understood. Figs. .-1 and .2, I have shown an embodiment of the invention iin atspecific -.ierm rof welder shield which is, however, but one ref the .many possibleembodiments of the invention. The shield illustrated in Figs. 1 and v2 comprises {a head .and ,fao mask generally indicated at al the-oontourief which insoter as the same overlies the face, ichin, tend stated portions of the wearer is more 'or less conventienal. The shield is provided with a .head engaging harness scomprising ra Llshaped band -2,-.ada,pted to extend over the top .of -the head of the wearer, andia. elosedhandggenernily indieatedet l adapt ed to pass around the wearers head in the region of the forehead. The harness thus provided is pivotally secured to the shield as at 4, so that with the harness fixed on the head of thewearer, the shield may be tipped up over the head of the wearer when not in use.

The lower portion of the face shield is, along opposite sides, provided with inwardly projecting flanges 5 for the purpose of not only reducing reflected glare on the inside of the shield, but also for the purpose of protecting the cheek portions of the operator. In the lower portion of the shield there is provided a chin rest 6. The member 6 is so positioned that it will, when the shield is lowered to an operative position, strike the chin of the wearer and consequently maintain the front face portion with the sight openings, hereinafter more specifically defined, in proper alignment with the eyes of the wearer.

The'oonstruotion described thus far is more or less conventional. My invention is primarily concerned with disposition of the lenses in the sight openings through which the operator views the area in which the welding operation is performed.

Projecting forwardly from the face of the shield is a rectangular housing generally indicated at l, which is provided with two sight openings 8 and 9, the first of which is disposed in a plane substantially parallel with the wearers face While the second is disposed below and at. approximately a right angle to such first opening. The two dimensions of the sight opening 8 are clearly shown in Fig. 1'. The narrow dimension of the sight opening 9 is illustrated in Fig. 2. The long dimension of the opening 9 is preferably the same as the long dimension of the opening 8.

Mounted across the opening 9, in preferably the angular position shown in Fig. 2, is a lens l0 which is preferably formed of such material, i. e. tinted glass, that the operator may, by looking through it, fairly distinctly observe nearby objects under conditions of ordinary room illumination. The amount by which the full transparency of the lens I0 is reduced will determine the degree of protection afforded by this lens against the intense and quite harmful rays of the welding arc, during such periods as the operator may accidentally holdthe shield in the wrong position.

The transparency of the lens l0 may be reduced to such an extent that it is capable of providing substantial protection against the intense rays of the electric are for relatively short periods of time, while at the same time being of sufficient transparency for the operator to clearly distinguish nearby objectsin an ordinary lighted room.

Mounted across the opening 8 is a lens I l whicli is considerably moreopaque than the lens 10, and which is capable of affording full protection against the rays of the are for sustained intervals of time. For facility in the identification of the lenses l0 and II in the remaining portions of this specification and in the appended claims, the lens 10 of the transparency characteristics as above defined will be, for convenience, hereinafter referred to as a semi-transparent lens. The lens I I will, on the other hand, be identified, for convenience, hereinafter and in the claims as being semi-opaque.

I am aware of the fact that broadly welders shields with a plurality of sight openings of difierent degrees of transparency, which is the general purpose for which my shield is designed, are not new. The most notable example in the prior art of efforts to solve this problem' is probably disclosed in the patent to Holt No. 1,861,797.

In that case, the more transparent of the two lenses was arranged above the more opaque lens. The semi-opaque lens, since it is used most of the time and always used during the critical period during which the arc must be observed, must always be the larger of the two openings.

Due to the fact that the semi-transparent lens will transmit a substantial portion of the harmful rays, especially over a considerable period of time, it is necessary in all dual lens constructions of this character to provide means, or to have the lenses so arranged, that when the operator is viewing the are through the semi-opaque lens, the semi-transparent lens will be in such a position that none of the arc rays may pass therethrough against the operators face.

In my construction, this is accomplished by placing the semi-transparent lens below the semiopaque lens, and also at an angle with respect thereto. With the lenses arranged as in my construction, illustrated for example in Fig. 2, the operator looks through the shield much as he would through a pair of bifocal spectacles. .The head will be slightly raised in order to permit the operator to see the areas to be welded through the lower opening, When thus viewing the weld area, the operator may select the place to. start the are, accurately position the electrode'with respect to the work, drop his head to bring his line of Vision through the opening H, and then safely strike the are. In striking the arc, it is a natural reflex action of the operator to drop his chin, which automatically brings the semi-opaque lens into his line of vision, and he is therefor automatically protected at all times.

In the prior art structures, where the semitransparent lens has been arranged above the semi-opaque lens, two difliculties were encountered:

First, the very nature of that arrangement required a forwardly extending projection or light barrier of substantial size in order that the semitransparent lens be shielded during the maintenance of the arc.

The second objection, and perhaps the most important, was the fact that the movement of the operator's head immediately before the arc was struck, and in order to bring the semi-opaque lens into the line of vision, was an unnatural one. In other words, it is a natural reflex for the operator, at the instant the brilliant arc is struck, to

drop his head in ,a gesture of self-protection.

. in a plane at a subst-antiallyright angle to such depressed line of sight. As thus arranged, it becomes unnecessary to provide any forwardl projecting barrier to cut ofi the transmission of the arc rays through the semi-transparent lens since, when the wearers line of sight to the arc is through the semi-opaque opening, the angular relation to the arc of the opening in which the semitransparent lens is mounted is such that no light will be transmitted therethrough from the arc. This latter condition is, in the illustrated structure, in a measure dependent upon the fact that the lower opening 9 in the light-impervious mathe light impervious material extends upwardly for a short distance above the plane of the lower opening in the light-impervious material, so as to interpose between the two lenses a band of such material which at the same time depends as a hood in front of the lower, angularly inclined lens.

The location of the more or less transparent lens I in the lower portion of the rectangular housing, which also carries the substantially opaque lens, gives rise to a particular advantage as follows:

The welding operation is generally performed near surfaces which are quite eflicient light reflectors, such as for example when welding in a closed space as in ship building construction, or even in factory rooms which have light ceilings, and the brilliant rays of the are are reflected back from these surfaces toward the operator from a v variety of different angles. With the semi-transparent lens l0 in the lower opening in the forwardl projecting lens housing, and with the operators head lowered sothat his line of sight passes through the lens H, the principal surfaces which may reflect the arc rays through the opening ID are the chest of the wearer and the floor and work areas immediately in front of him. These areas are generally dark, and thuswith my improved shield very little light is thus reflected through the opening III as compared with the amount which would thus be reflected through the opening, were it positioned in the top of the lens housing for example.

I have thus provided a shield which, utilizing the natural reflexes of the operator, affords not only the maximum degree of protection, but also permits the operator to shift his line of vision from the semi-transparent to the semi-opaque opening as a truly unconscious rather than a conscious movement.

From the foregoing description of one specific embodiment of my invention as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it will be observed that considerations of facility in manufacture and the like give rise to modifications in the manner in which the two lenses may be supported relatively to each other, as well as the angle lensD (I0) is arranged relatively to lens C (l I). It will also be obvious that with a different type of mounting for the two lenses, the angle therebetween might'still be different without departing from the principles of the invention.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

1, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A welders shield comprising a face mask of light-impervious material arranged to be normall supported in front of the wearers face and having an opening in its central portion, a boxlike extension of light-impervious material over such opening, such extension having one opening in its forward wall and another opening in its lower wall, a semi-opaque lens in such first opening and a more transparent lens in such second opening.

2. A welders shield comprising a face mask of light-impervious material arranged to be normally supported in front of the wearers face and having an opening in its central portion, a boxlike extension of light-impervious material over such opening, such extension having one opening in its forward wall and another opening in its lower wall, a semi-opaque lens in such first opening and a more transparent lens in such second opening, said last-named lens being inclined at an obtuse angle to said first-named lens,

3. A welders shield comprising a mask of lightimpervious material adapted to be supported in front of the wearers face, two vertically adjacent lenses of different degrees of opacity inserted in said mask, the upper lens being the more opaque and the lower lens being mounted in a plane lying at an angle to the plane of the upper lens and intersecting such last-mentioned plane so that, in normal position of the wearers head, light rays from the operation pass to the wearers eyes through the lower, less opaque lens and upon downwardly inclining the wearers head such rays pass through the upper, more opaque lens.

4. A welders shield comprising a mask of lightimpervious material adapted to be supported in front of the wearers face, two vertically adjacent lenses of different degrees of opacity inserted in said mask, the upper lens being the more opaque and said lenses being so located in said mask that in normal position of the wearers head light rays from the operation pass to the wearers eyes through the lower, less opaque lens and upon downwardly inclining the wearers headsuch rays pass through the upper, more opaque lens, and a band of such light-impervious material disposed to shield the lower, less opaque lens from such light rays when the wearers head is thus inclined.

5. A welders shield comprising a mask of lightimpervious material adapted to be supported in front of the wearers face, two vertically adjacent lenses of different degrees of opacity inserted in said mask, the upper lens being the more opaque, the lower, less opaque lens being inclined inwardly at an obtuse angle to said upper lens, the plane of such lower lens intersecting the plane of such upper lens so that in normal position of the wearers head light rays from the operation pass to the wearers eyes through the lower, less opaque lens and upon downwardl inclining the wearers head such rays pass through the upper, more opaque lens.

.6. A welders shield comprising a mask of lightimpervious material adapted to be supported in front of the wearers face, two vertically adjacent lenses of difierent degrees of opacity inserted in said mask, the upper lens being the more opaque, the lower, less opaque lens being inclined inwardly at an obtuse angle to said upper lens, a band of such light-impervious material depending in front of said lower lens, and said lenses being so located in said mask that in normal position of the wearers head light rays from the operation pass to the wearers eyes through the lower, less opaque lens and upon downwardly inclining the wearers head such rays pass through the upper,

more opaque lens.

GEORGE G. LANDIS. 

